The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-10-27
TALMAGE'S SERMON,
The Weekly Discourse of the Great
Brooklyn Preacher
Subject, "Forbidden Honey"

TEXT; "Idid but taste Httls honey Nth
the end Of tho rod that ,oas in my hand, and
70! Unjust die, vi Samuel XIV, IS.
The honey bee Is most ingenious architect,
Christopher Wren among insects, a geome.
ter drawing hsxagons and pentagons, a free
booter robbing the fields of pollen and aroma,
awondroos creatureo OF Goa, whose biography
written by Huber and Swammerdam, is an
enchsntment for any lover of nature Virgil
celebrated the bee in his fable of Aristeus,
and Moses, and Samuel, and David, and Solo,
mon, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and st.
John used the delcacies of bee manufacture
as Bible symbol, A miracle of formation is
the bee: five eyes, two tongues the outer hav-
ing q sheath OF protection, hair on all sides of
Its tiny body to brush up the particles of
flowers; Its flight so straight that all the world
palace such as no one but God could plan
and the honey bee construct; its cells
sometimes dormitory, sometimes a store.
house, and sometimes a cemetery. These
winged toilers first make eight strips of
wax, and by their antenne, which are to
them hammer and chise, and square and
plumb line, fashion them for use. Two
and two, these workers shape the wall.
II an accident happen they put up but.
tIesses or extra beams to remedy the dam
age. When about the year 1776 an insect,
before unknown, In the night time attacked
the beehives all over Europe, and the men
who owned them were in vain trying to plan
something to keep out the invader that was
the terror OF the beehives of the continent, it
was found that everywhere the bees had ar
ranged for their own protection and built
before their honeycomhs an especial wall of
wax, with PORTFOLIOS through which the bees
might go TO and fro, but not large enough to
admit the winged combatant, called the
Sphinx Atropos
Do you know that the swarming of the bees
is divinely directedt The mother bee starts
for new home and because of this the other
bees OF the hive get into an excitement which
raises the heat OF the hive some four degrees.
and they must die unless they leave their
heated apartments, and they follow the
mother bee and alight on the branch of a
tree, and cling to each other and hold on
until committee of two or three have ex-
plored the region and found the hollow of G
tree OF ROCK not Tar oil from stream of
water, and they here set up new colony,
and ply their aromatic industries, and give
themselves to the manufacture of the saccha-
rlne edible. But who can tell the chemistry
OF that mixture of sweetness part of it the
very life of the bee and part of 1t the life of
the fields.
Plenty of the luscious product was hang.
ing IN the woods of Beth aven during the
time OF Saul and Jonathan. Their army was
In pursuit of an enemy that by Gods com
mand must be eSterminated. The soldery
were positively forbidden to stop to eat any
thing until the work was done. If they disc.
oeyea tney We're accursed. Coming through
tne woods they found place where the bees
bad been busy, great honey mandatory.
Honey gathered in the hollow of the trees
until 1t had overf1owed upon the ground in
great protusion of sweetness. All the army
obeyed orders and touched it not save Jona-
IMAM, and he not knowing the military order
ABOUT abstinence, dipped the end of a stick he
had IN his hand into the candied LIQUID, and
as yellow and brown, and tempting,i it glowed
on the end of the stick he put it to his mouth
and ate the honey Judgment fell upon him,
and but for special Intervention he would
have been slain. In my text Jonathan an
nounces his awful mistake: ~ did but taste
a little honey with the end of the rod that was
in my hand, and, 10, l must die" Alas, what
multltudes of people in all ages have been
damaged by forbidden honey, by which I
mean temptation, delicious and attractive.
but damaging and destructive.
corrupt literature, fascinating but deathful,
Somes IN thls category. Where one good,
healthful book is read now there are one
hundred made up Of rhetorical trash con.
sumed with avidity When the bow in the
cars comes through with a pile of publica
lions look over the titles and notice that nine
OUT OF every ten Of the books are depicting
ana injurious. All the way from New York
70 chicago or New Orleaas notice that oh.
tectionable books dominate. Taste for pure
literature Is poisoned by this scum Of the
publishing houses, Every book in which sin
t1umphs over virture, or in which glamor
IS thrown over dissipation, or which leaves
you at its last line with less respect for the
f ar tRa institution institution and less adherence
LOT the paramour, is depression
Of your own moral character. The
book blndery may be attractive, and the Mot
dramatic and startling, and the style Of
Writlns sweet as the honey that Jonathan
dipped up with his rod, but your best inter
your God forhids it, and one taste Of # NAV az,
lead to such bad results that you may have
70 say at the close of the experiment. or at
Sne ciose OF misimproved lifetime: III did
ouo taste little honey with the rod that was
u u my hand, and, 10, must die!n
1Corrupt literature is doing more to-day for
o oas disruption OF domestic life than any other
cause Eiopements, marital intrigues. slv
correspondence, fictitious names given at
Postonce windows, clandestine meetings in
Parks, and at ferry gates, and in hotel mar.
iofs, ana conJugal perjures, are among the
uamnaole results When a woman, Young
u 9th olo ,t gets her head thoroughly stuffed
Paillng peril. But some ono will saw. nTbe
heroes are so adrotly knavish, and the ner.
SOILS 30 Dewitchingly untrue, and the turn
OF the story so exquisite, and all the charsc-
eers so enrapturing, l cannot quit them"
NY Drothor, my sister, you can find styles Of
nteraeure just as charming that will elevate
and purify and ennoble, and Christianize
while they please. The devil does not own
all the honey. There is wealth of good
books coming forth from our publishing
houses that leaves no excuse for the choice Of
mat which 1s debauching to body, mind and
soul 10 to some intelligent man or woman
and ask for list of books that will be
strengthening to your mental and moral
ice rt,,1 ~ \
Improvelnent 80 abbreviated that you can
NOT afford to fill up with husks and cinders
ana debris. In the interstices of business
Snat young man is reading that which will
prepare him to be merchant prince, and
that young woman is filling her mind with an
nteilgence that will yet either make her the
chleI attraction OF a good mans home or give
her an Independence of character that will
quality her to build her own home and main
tain IL IN happiness that requires no aug
mentatlon from any of our rougher sex. That
young man or young woman can by the right
nterary and moral Improvement of the spare
ten minutes here or there in every day, rise
head and shoulders in prosperity and charac-
Ter and influence above the loungers who
read nothing, or read that which bedwarfs.
See all the forests Of good American litera-
ture dripping with honey. Why pick up the
honeycombs that have in them the fiery bees
which will sting you with an eternal poison
J
me decide everything for this world and the
next. 1t was a turning point with me when
in Wynkoop's bookstore, Syracuse, one
day ! picked up a book called "The
Beauties Of Ruskin." 1t was only book of
extracts, but it was all pure honey, and
was not satisfied until had purchased all
his works, at that time expensive beyond an
easy capacity to own them, and what a
heaven went through in reading his "Seven
Lamps OF Architecture and his "Stones of
Venice" it is impossible for me to describe,
except by saying that it gave me rapture
for good books and an everlasting disgust for
decrepit or immoral looks that will last me
while my immortal soul lasts All around
the church and the world to-day there are
busy hives Of intelligence occupied by authors
md authoresses, from whose pen drip a dis
tillation which is the very nectar of heaven.
and why will you thrust your rod of inauisi
tiveness into the deathful saccharine of per-
ditionl
Stimulating liquids also come into the cate
CORY of temptations delicious but beautiful.
You say: 81 cannot bear the taste of intoxi-
eating liquor, and how any man can like it is
to me an amazement." Well then, it is no
credit to you that you do not taste it. Do
not brag about your total abstinence, be-